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Goal 5
'Make it easier for people to use transit and bicycles.' 'Introduction:' Transportation, for the purposes of this plan, is defined as means of movement, circulation, and accessibility throughout the neighborhood and surrounding areas, which includes walking, biking, vehicular traffic, both single-occupant vehicles as well as public transportation vehicles, and other forms of public transit. The transportation system has a great impact on the neighborhood’s economy, environment, and our general and social well-being. By creating a sustainable transportation network that encourages alternate forms of transportation rather than relying solely on automobiles, the neighborhood will become safer, healthier, and improve our overall quality of life. Relevancy: (State why this topic is important to our neighborhood – connect to charrette discussion) 'Strategies: Transportation' 1. Improve public transportation infrastructure and visibility Allowing our neighborhood to become more intergraded with the greater Baltimore transit system will provide connectivity to other parts of the city while helping to eliminate the need for personal vehicle use. Creating efficient walking and biking links to the various forms of public transportation within and around our neighborhood is an essential component of a sustainable neighborhood within the City. Improving upon the infrastructure and transit options available will help ensure an increase in future ridership, reduce trip times, and improve the rider’s overall experience. Our communities continued investment in the development and improvement of the City’s transportation system could help make this a reality. *Increase the number of Johns Hopkins shuttle service stops throughout the neighborhood. *Improve bus shelters and bus stops. *Signage. Well-designed and well-coordinated signage systems with the incorporation of new technology will provide orientation, ease of use, and contribute to the overall effectiveness of the public transit system thus encourage use. *Explore car share and zip car options in our neighborhood 2. Improve bicycle and pedestrian safety Walking and bicycling immediately add accessible and affordable transportation modes. With XX% of Patterson Park residents without automobile access, increasing the safety and convenience of these active modes of transportation will have multiple benefits. Infrastructure that supports and encourages walking and cycling calms traffic and leads to reductions in traffic injury and death. As modes of transport, walking and cycling also promote health, enhance neighborhood connectivity, are zero emitting and non-polluting, and encourage development scaled to people, rather than cars. Making the built environment highly supportive of walking and cycling will lead to a healthier, more complete city. *Support the implementation of the Bicycle Masterplan. *Explore options for bike share programs within the neighborhood *Provide convenient, secure, and visible bike parking (where?) *Encourage participation of the safe routes to school program (which schools) *Promote walking, bicycling, and exercising by temporarily closing select streets to automobiles. 3. Implement traffic calming devices Fast-moving vehicular traffic prevents residents from the enjoyment of walking, bicycling, playing and interacting socially with others in urban streets. People do not like to live, walk, or travel on streets that are dominated by heavy traffic, because they are unsafe, loud, air polluting, socially disruptive and often visually unattractive. Urban streets are not the exclusive domains of the auto¬mobile; rather, urban streets are important public spaces for a wide range of community functions in addition to transportation, including commerce, recreation and social interaction. They must regain their fundamentally pedestrian-based function not through the elimination of automobile traffic but through calming of automobile traffic. *Create raised crosswalks with a variation in material (where?) *Create “bump-outs” to slow traffic and reduce the walking distance at crosswalks. *Improve traffic signage and street markings.